HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Purchased by Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE

Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 53,429 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the quarter. HCA Healthcare comprises about 3.0% of Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $16,037,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC now owns 8,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,297,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.7% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 4,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,652,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 2.4% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $529,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on HCA shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $382.19.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 0.3 %

HCA Healthcare stock opened at $327.80 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $313.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $353.27. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1-year low of $289.98 and a 1-year high of $417.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71. The company has a market cap of $83.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.64.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 520.98% and a net margin of 8.52%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.90 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 21.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is currently 11.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $1,363,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,445,700. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total value of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,843 shares in the company, valued at $2,415,579. This trade represents a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Company Profile

HCA Healthcare, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates hospitals and related healthcare entities in the United States. It operates general and acute care hospitals that offers medical and surgical services, including inpatient care, intensive care, cardiac care, diagnostic, and emergency services; and outpatient services, such as outpatient surgery, laboratory, radiology, respiratory therapy, cardiology, and physical therapy.